Local Government Resources
When participants look at their communities, the following websites related
to government have been recommended as resources:
- General demographic information is extremely helpful to assess your community.
One good source is the Policy Research Institute. The Policy Research Institute
(PRI), formerly the Institute for Public Policy and Business Research (IPPBR),
was created in 2000 by the University of Kansas to bring University expertise
in the areas of metropolitan studies, public policy, and economics to the
state, region, and nation. PRI provides an active link between the University,
state and local governments, the business community, and the citizens of
Kansas. Components of the Institute include:
Center for Economic and Business Analysis (CEBA)
Kansas Center for Community Economic Development (KCCED)
Both of these components can be accessed at the PRI web page at: http://www.ku.edu/pri
Also accessible at the PRI site are city and county demographic tables from
the 2000 Census.
- Another resource is the recently released Kansas Elder Count booklet
prepared by the Center on Aging at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
it is available on the web at http://www2.kumc.edu/coa/eldercount.
It is patterned after the Kansas Kids Count booklet prepared by Kansas Action
for Children. It will allow you to compare your community to a state wide
average and what quintile your community ranks in comparison to all counties
in the State of Kansas A quintile divides the counties into 5 equal sized
groups based on the percentage of the population in each category. Since
Kansas has 105 counties, each quintile represents 21 counties.
Caution should be exercised in interpreting the data. Quintile rankings
can sometimes be determined as better or worse depending on the variables.
Some variables are value neutral and some variables raise more questions
than they answer. The web site provides data definitions on pages 161 -172.
and these should be provided when sharing the information.
- The AARP Public Policy Institute developed a community survey in 1999
to assess public transportation, driving, walking, housing, shipping, and
municipal features,services and leisure facilities. Its transportation and
housing sections are particularly strong, including local zoning. It also
provides excellent resources that communities could tap into. Check it out
at http://research.aarp.org/consume/d16905_communities.html
- The Kansas Department of Commerce & Housing offers community profiles
for Kansas counties and communities at http://kdoch.talk2u.com/search_communities.asp.
These profiles include information on population, workforce, municipal services,
transportation, tax structure, telecommunications, utilities, community
services, education facilities, major manufacturers and employers, and contact
information for economic development organizations.
- The Kansas Department of Health and Envirnoment has information to look
at your health needs. Of particular interest may be the Office of Health
Care Information (OHCI). OHCI helps provide a comprehensive picture of the
health of Kansas citizens and looks for ways to improve their quality of
life by combining and interpreting health care information from various
data sources. OHCI researches and analyzes health, vital statistics, health
insurance statistics and occupational data maintained within the State and
generates information for State agencies, policy makers and the public on
crucial
issues. OHCI generates periodical reports such as Annual Summary of Vital
Statistics;
Kansas Occupational Injury and Illness Survey; Health System Inventory;
Kansas Health Data Resources; and Most Frequent Conditions Treated in Community
Hospitals. They have a web site at http://www.kdhe.state.ks.us/hci/index.html
- A number of states have undertaken initiatives. Many of these could be
adapted to a community level. Check these out:
